BNK Busan Bank, in partnership with the K-STAR consortium, has successfully completed a proof-of-concept for a blockchain-based programmable digital won system, South Korean outlet Newsis reported. The trial, conducted on the Kaia blockchain mainnet, achieved a 100% transaction success rate and settlement processing under one second, matching or exceeding the speed of existing card payment networks.
The consortium combined expertise from five key players: BNK Busan Bank handled policy design and validation, AhnLab Blockchain Company built the wallet and infrastructure, OpenAsset managed stablecoin issuance, Kaia provided the mainnet, and Lambda256 oversaw node operations. Testing covered normal, congested, maximum-load, and mixed irregular traffic scenarios, plus continuous 24-hour operation, with every transaction completing successfully and settling in under a second.
Unlike a simple transfer test, the pilot focused on programmable money—digital currency with embedded policy controls. Issuers could restrict spending to approved merchants, automatically expire unused balances, and apply different settlement rules by category. The consortium noted the technology could later support government subsidies, digital vouchers, CBDC services, and won-backed stablecoins. This marks the third major Korean bank pilot in 2026, following KB Financial Group's won-stablecoin trial (also using Kaia and OpenAsset) and Shinhan Card's stablecoin test with Solana, signalling consolidation of won-stablecoin infrastructure ahead of formal regulation.
